Automatic pipe grapple



My W, i934. N, M ERDAHL AUTOMATIC PIPE GRAPPLE Filed Aug. 12, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet l July 10, 1934. N. M. ERDAHL 1,966,240

AUTOMAT IC P IPE GRAPPLE Filed Aug. l2, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 essere@ relates to grannies or tongs for use in sonnesipes, poles, ete. 'lie to provide an andiing oi this invention main. object of improved grapple which may 'oe quickly nd e attached "o or released from the pipe. Anoti'ier ooieet is to provide, in a devise or this Pilaracter, means adapted 'to oe antoine y upon encounter with t'ne pipe or pole for ca ing movement or the gripping elements into positive gripping relation with tile or pole. A urtifer 0. ot is toprovide u ple of the above roeritioned type 'with novel been. releasef.. tneretron to provide an improved apple having pivoted tong arms with means for autogripping rela-l on die Iis .llj/ latening the iv "vent-ien oon L o een and desorieed, and indicated in t e dran/ings:

re i a front eleva-tion of t. the present invention, silos.

.T5 .-e 2 -s View similar to Figo ve l snot-Jing the jaws in, onen position tne pipe about 3g to be embraced t'leday.

e Figure 3 is a side elevation showing trie jaws as nidi-cated at line, 5 5, on Figure l.

Y" 6 is a detail sectional View taken at line, end, on Figure 2.

The grapple or tongs embodying the present 40 invention pertains to that tyne of device parN tioularly adapted for use in conneetion with the handling oi pipes, poles, ete. Such a device may loe used in conne@ ion with a tackle and boom t'nat is stationary or mounted on a vehicle. A device of this type is partieularly adapted for use in handling pipes in laying oil and lines under Construction, eitlier in the removal of same from trucks, oars, etc., or placement thereof in ditches, trenches. ete. device may also ne conveniently employed in handling of telephone poles in connection with the construction or dismantling or" a telephone system.

Referring new in det yil to the drawings, it fill be seen that my iinproi d grapple includes a of tone arms, 1G, 1l, which are pivotally connected toget er by of a boit, l2. These tong arms fnich are preferably Castings are eaon coroi3, o an upwardly le, le, are of a modied U shape, engaging a supporting ring, 15, Wliiei may be understood 'to e connected to a. suitable hoisting taelrle. i lower ends of the ld-sloaned links, are swage together engaged `=oetween the spaced sides forming the respective tong arins 1S, ll, as be seen the drawings. side plates, Us, composing the tong arm, lf3, overlap the side plates, lla, at their pivotal connection, and the 7@ side plates, are apart at tiie pivot-a1 connection by means of a bloeit, 12s.

Pivotally connected to tine lower ends of the d 1?..,by means or bolts, 17, are

"vs iii, each of which @5 nas areuate griA ping portion, 18a, les, which shaped to eenornto the contour of the roastisise pipe or pole to be handled tnerebyg-it understood that the device is designed for e io connection with pipes, poles, ete., of a plnsizes. The inner snr'iaoelo tne arcuate l.' fea, of said jaws are 'provided uit g, 2G, to no ve gripen the s are brought into operative engagement with the pipe indicated at 2-. This 85 ng, 2), also serves to prevent damaging the les in handling. As may be seen from rs are formed with pair of spaced apart parallel ribs, 13b and 19h,

and these jaws swing between the spaced apart side members o the tong arrns. The upper part of the jaws are designed so that the mass of the jaw with respect to the pivot connection provided by the bolt, l?, acts as a ooiniteriveignt tending to swing the jaws inwardly at their upper ends. g5 Secured to upper ends of the ribs, 18h and 19h,

on the respective jaws -repina les' and 19d, and

pivotally mounted on the pin, 18d, intermediate the ribs, 18h, and substantially central with respeot to the side liars of the respective tong arms 1130 Vis a substantially horizontally extending latch 19d, will engage in a notch, 22h. The under side of the latch member leading to the notch, 22a, as weil as the surface extending from the notch, toward the notch, 22h, are formed as Canis so that when said cam surfaces are engaged by the pin, 19d, the jaws swing open, the latch will be raised about its pivot until one of said notches, 22n or 22h, align with and engage said pin. The extreme outer end or the latch member, 22, is formed with an eyelet, 22, to which is connected an operating element, herein shown as a flexible cable, 23, which extends upwardly and is suitably connected to a place adjacent the operator s that it may be pulled when desired for ermitting the tong arms to separate and release the jaws to pivot about their hinged connections provided by the bolts, 17, for releasing the pipe. Formed on the upper end of one of the side plates, lo, of the tong arm, lo, is an eyelet, loc, for guiding the flexible rope, 23. The under side of the latch, 22, adjacent the pivot connection is formed with an extension producing a slot, 22d, which slot is adapted to receive and accommodate the pin, 19d, for securing the in open position the pipe has been released, as may be seen in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

To maintain the tong arms with the jaws, 18 and 19, in o en position after the pipe or pole has been release therefrom, I provide a dctent which includes a dog, 26, pivotally connected at 2'?, intermediate the spaced apart ribs, 18h, of the jaw, 18. The inner end of the dog is formed with a counter' eight, 2S, which normally tends to swing the in Scal d1 Potion about its for encounter by the 21. opposit.J en i dog is forni-ed with :t transversely extending web portion, 29, which adapted when the jaws are swung to open position, by discharge of the pipe, to registcr with and abut stop shoulders, 10e, formeel on the inner surface of the side plates, 10e, of the tong arm, l0, as seen in Figures 2 and 6 of the drawings.

The operation of my improved grapple is as follows: When it is desired to release the pipe, 2l, from the jaws, the grapple is lowered until the pipe, 21, rests upon the ground. Then the rope, 23, is pulled so as to release the notched portion, or 22h, of the latch, 22, from engagement with the pin, 19d, which releases the jaws, 1S and 19, for free pivotal movement about their hinge connection provided by the bolts, 1'7, on the tong arms. Then the grapple is raised which movement causes the lower ends of the jaws to act camwise against the lower surface of the pipe, 21, and be forced outwardly and the upper ends of said jaws moved inwardly. The inward movement of the upper ends of said jaws brings the pin, 19d, into engagement with the slot, 22d. After the pipe is released the dog, 26, under the iniluence of its counterweight, 28, moves to operative position, as seen in dotted lines in Figure 2, so that web portion, 29, abuts against the stop shoulders, 10e, on the tong arm, 10, and thus prevents return movement of the jaw, 18, and the counterweight, 28, assumes a position as seen in dotted lines in Figure 2, so as to insure being iirst engaged and actuated by the pipe when the grapple is lowered thereover. Due to the pin, 19d. engaging in the slot, 22d, of the latch member, 22, the jaw, 19, is also held in open po- :'-ition as seen in Figure 2. It will be understood that when the pin, 19d, of the jaw, 19, is disposed in the slot. 22d, the weight of the latch, 22, due to the sub, tantial leverage will tend to Locas-io frictionally maintain the jaws and the tongs xed in open position. And if for sonic reason the jaw, 19, is not held securely due to the frictional contact of the latch, such as may result when the grapple is being raised and jostled about slightly. it will be manifest that the pin, 19e', can only travel to the end of the slot, 22, which will serve to definitely limit the inward movement of the upper end or" the jaws and the closing of t le tong arms. It will be understood that the tong arms in open position with the jaws swung to the position Figure 2 will always acc inrnodate the maximum size pipe capable of beiner handled.

When it is desired to pick up a pipe or a pole be grapple is lowered. with the jaws held in the ien position as above described, and permitte, to drop over the pipe as seen i' Figure 2 of the and wl en the pipe contacts the end of the counterweight, 28, it will swing the dog, 25, about its pivot, 27, so as to dispose the flange, 29, out of abutting engagement with the shoulders, 19C, of the tong arm, lo, and the continuous downward movement of the grapple will thus bithe upper ends of the as indicated at lf a lSf, into Contact with the surface of the pipe, and thereby cause the jaws to swing about their pivots; the upper ends moving outwardly and the lower ends inwardly so as to embrace the pipe. During such movement the pin, l9='l, or the jaw, 19, t outwardly along the cam formation on the i .er side of the latch, 22, until it registers with either the notch, 22a or 22D, ci the latch member, and it will be under- .stood that the weight or the .la-tcL1 1' einber due to remoteness of its pivotal con to the member to drop by g avity and enmge the pin, 19d, and thereby lock the jaws in fixed relation. grapple may then be bodily raised carrying tlripe with it.

wil be understood that when a pipe larger 1 than that shown in Figure l cf the 's to be handled by the grapple, the awe wir` be separated slightly farther, causing he tong arras to open slightly more, thus cau. ng the pin, 19d, to engage in the notch, 22h, of *he latch.. It will be recognized that by virtue oi iis construction the tong arms move very little, grip or releasing action taking place substantially entirely by the movement oi the jaws.

It it happens that the cable or rope, 23, becomes snagged, due to inadvertence of the operator in holding onto it too long, the jaws, 18 and 19, may not be inter-engaged, but may swing freely so that their upper ends tend to swing inwardly and downwardly about their hinge connections. To prevent the jaws from being disposed in an inoperative position I provide stop lugs indicated at 18g, 19g, which are positioned to engage the outer edges of the side plates of the tong arms, 1-3 and 1l, respectively, thus limiting such movement of the jaws; such limited movenient of the jaws will still permit proper engagei ment thereof when the grapple is lowered over the pipe preparatory to raising same.

Although I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that the construction and arrange- I claim:

l. In a grapple for handling pipes, poles, or the like, a pair of tong arms pivotally connected together, a pair of cooperating jaws pivotally connected to the lower ends of said tong arms for engaging the pipe, pole or the like, and means for locking said jaws to each other in fixed relation when they are so engaged.

2. In the construction dened in claim 1, together with remote control means operable at will for releasing the locking means and in turn permitting the jaws to disengage the pipe, pole, or the like.

3. In a grapple for handling pipes, poles and the like, a pair of tong arms pivotally connected together, a pair of cooperating jaws pivotally connected to the lower ends of said arms and adapted to engage pipes, poles or objects of a plurality of different sizes, and means operable when the jaws have been brought into engagement with the object, for locking the jaws in one of a plurality of positions corresponding to the size of the object engaged, said means including a latch member hingedly connected at one end to the upper end of one of the jaws, the upper end of the other jaw having a cooperating feature engageable in one of a plurality of notches formed in said latch.

4. In a grapple for handling pipes, poles, or the like, a pair of tong arms pivotally connected together, a pair of cooperating jaws pivotally connected to the lower ends of said arms, said jaws being counterbalanced so that when free their upper ends tend to swing toward each other, and a latch hingedly connected at one end to the upper end of one of the jaws, the upper end of the other jaw having a feature adapted to engage in a notch formed in the latch for locking the jaws in fixed relation when they are brought into engagement with the pipe, pole, and the like; the upper ends of said jaws being forcibly moved toward each other, incident to the discharge of the pipe, pole, or the like, and the latch being pro= vided with a feature cooperating with said feature on said second mentioned jaw, tending to maintain said jaws and tong arms in open position.

5. In the construction defined in claim 4, said tong arms each including a pair of spaced apart side members between which said jaws are pivoted, and the latch member freely movable.

6. In the construction defined in claim 4, a detent carried on one of the jaws for assisting in holding said jaws and tong arms in open position, said detent being movable into operative engagement with the adjacent tong arm when said jaw` swings to open position, incident to the discharge of a pipe, pole, or the like.

7. In a grapple for handling pipes, poles, or the like, a pair of tong arms pivotally connected together, a pair of cooperating jaws pivotaliy connected to the lower ends of said arms, said jaws being ccunterbalanced so that when free their upper ends tend to swing toward each other, and a latch hingedly connected at one end to the upper end of one of the jaws, the upper end of the other jaw and said latch having cooperating features, engageable when the upper end of the jaws swing toward each other incident to discharge of a pipe, pole, or the like, for holding said jaws and tong arms in open position.

8. In the construction dened in claim 7, a detent on one of the jaws, including a pivoted dog, movable into abutting relation with a shoulder on the adjacent tong arm, when the jaws are free, for assisting in blocking the jaws and tong arms in open position.

9. In the construction defined in claim '7, a detent on one of the jaws, including a pivoted dog, movable into abutting relation with a shoulder on the adjacent tong arm, when the jaws are free, for assisting in blocking the jaws and tong arms in open position, and a counterweight associated with the dog normally tending to move it to operative position.

l0. In the construction dened in claim 7, a detent on one of the jaws, including a pivoted dog, movable into abutting relation with a shoulder on the adjacent tong arm, when the jaws are free, for assisting in blocking the jaws and tong arms in open position, said dog including a depending part, adapted when said dog is in operative position, to be disposed for encounter by the pipe, pole, or the like, as the grapple is lowered thereover preparatory to raising, whereby such engagement of said depending part swings the dog to inoperative position and permits encounter with said jaws for swinging them into operative engagement with said pipe, pole, or the like.

NICHOLAI M. ERDAHL. 

